Phil’s Top 5… Bond Films

Each week Phil, from Phil’s Quick Capsule Review, takes a look at a different movie or TV related Top Five. This time out: Bond Films!

Close but no cigar: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Goldeneye, Dr No

5 – Live & let DieFar from the late camp of Roger Moore’s era, Live & Let Die is dark and mysterious in places and showed that the producers had finally found a Bond worthy of stepping in to Connery’s shoes. Shame it all ended in Safari suits and Grace Jones…

4 – Casino RoyaleBlack & white, flash backs, an early pre 007 Bond? Casino Royale took the play book and threw it out. And damn was it all the better for it. Consigning the cheese of Brosnan’s later films to history, Casino Royale gave us a Bond film for the 2000’s with a more physical 007 and a more grounded story.

3 – License To KillDalton’s two films are much maligned by many but Licence To Kill takes the concept of Bond gone rogue and runs with it. Darker (it starts with Felix getting eaten by shark), deadlier and relentless it was the first Bond film to feature Bond getting bloo-y. Awesome villain also.

2 – GoldfingerGoldfinger is the prototypical Bond film. It set the template for all those that followed and cemented Connery and Bond as icons. It gave us Bassey, P-ssy Galore and Q’s OTT gadgets. Bond would never be the same…

1 – SkyfallSkyfall is the perfect Bond film that manages to grow the character of Bond whilst building on the elements we know and love. So it has gadgets, some top notch action sequences and a camp bad guy. But it also has heart, charm and reverence to what has gone before.

About Phil Hobden

Phil Hobden is the former Film Editor & Writer for renowned martial arts focused COMBAT MAGAZINE in the UK. He is also a filmmaker in his own right, having produced two cult Independent action films in LEFT FOR DEAD and TEN DEAD MEN. He was the host for the Filmsploitation podcast for 4 years and now writes and edits for his own site Phil's Quick Capsule Review...

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‘Phil's Quick Capsule Review' (a nod to legendary comedian Bill Hicks who coined the phrase when he reviewed 'Piece Of Shit' movie Basic Instinct)... where a perfect 10 is rarer than a rain free British summer!

Written by Phil Hobden - UK based podcaster, writer and former filmmaker. Part of the All Things Film network...